www.maximcc.com
Maxim Commercial Capital is a commercial finance
company committed to fostering the growth of
small and middle market companies by providing
creative and flexible asset-backed financing solutions

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Robert (Bob) L. Krause, Leasing industry icon; former senior vice-president of Sterling National Bank, New York, New York; Chief Credit Officer, Commercial Funding; executive VP Granat Leasing; then associate for the Alta Group, who slowed down due a stroke in September, 2009, finally retired April, 2011.

Bruce Kropschot, Senior Managing Director and Merger & Acquisition Advisory Practice Leader of The Alta Group, told Leasing News "He was a funder and friend of many in the leasing industry, and we will miss him."

A lifetime New Yorker, Robert Krause began his 48-year financial services career at Standard Financial Corporation. He later worked for a Rothschild banking group affiliate, and then served as a founder and president of Northern Financial Corporation, which was purchased by Aetna in the 1970s and became Aetna Business Credit. He then held key positions for Todd Equipment Finance, and Granat Leasing.

Krause’s career at Sterling Bank Leasing began in 1993, a very active source for small ticket "app only" transactions as well as larger ticket transactions. He was always active, often quoted in Leasing News, and was well-known as a "straight shooter" who was not afraid to voice his opinion.

Considered a tireless advocate for the leasing industry, he was an early board member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA). He was founder and first president of the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors (EAEL), which honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Alison Pryor, then executive director of EAEL, said Krause was recognized for his “years of leadership, ethical treatment of employees and customers, and significant contributions to the leasing industry and EAEL.”

Robert Krause was an early Leasing News supporter, and longtime advertiser.

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Boston, Mass.Accomplished Sales & Relationship Management Professional with business development experience in the financial services industry. Recognized by market leaders as industry expert in Professional Practice financing, as well as Residential Mortgage Lending. Keen insight and understanding of transaction process and financial requirements of customer. Proven record of exceeding sales goals. deb.harold@hotmail.com

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Ascentium Capital announces a 47% increase in volume in 2013 and strategic initiatives planned for 2014 as it deepens and expands its business partnerships. In August of last year the company announced processing over $1 billion in credit applications via its vendor and third party originations facilities.

CEO Tom Depping

“Year-end results proved to be a year of excellent performance," Tom Depping, Chief Executive Office, declared. "We’ll seize tremendous opportunities as we expand into strategic markets, grow our team of specialized sales professionals and continue to enhance our efficiencies. These efforts also allow us to provide service levels that surpass industry standards.”

Depping believes, "As a result of strong business relationships developed with manufacturers and distributors, we have significant momentum in place for long-term growth. The company has an aggressive business plan for 2014 focused on organic sales growth while maintaining a focus on a healthy portfolio and strong net income."

He noted the company will continue to invest in its proprietary, state-of-the art technology platform that produces a streamlined finance experience.

CEO Depping pointed to "Important milestones over the last two years including the acquisition of strategic companies focused in specialized segments, the development of technology tools that benefit the sales process as well as the client experience and the substantial expansion of a specialized sales force. Ascentium Capital has opened sales offices nationally and is planning on doubling its sales force over the next year. With over 150 dedicated employees, the company continues to take the lead in developing custom finance programs that benefit manufacturers, distributors as well as direct financing for business owners nationwide.

"In addition to serving the financial needs of small businesses, the company also focuses on improving local communities. This has led to active involvement in fundraising that benefit veterans, families in transition as well as education-based initiatives including a four-year scholarship for public school students."

The company is backed by the strength of Vulcan Capital, a leading private investment firm and by LKCM Capital Group, LLC.

First, readers will found that the successful individual or successful company belongs to a leasing and/or finance association. Many will belong to more than one. Why? The knowledge, the information, the growth are important, but it is also to get involved in their profession and career, while "giving back." These personalities, or company identities, make them "winners" as well as good citizens in their communities.

In choosing an association, while the numbers of how many members belong may be attractive, the most important consideration is the composition of the members which create the mission, and the goals, while attracting the people and companies to these goals and missions. This article hopes to show the differences besides counting the numbers at year end.

Company Type

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Accountant

8

9

7

6

7

Bank

110

97

81

77

92

Broker/Packager

8

8

9

11

13

Captive

60

64

60

65

56

Collection Agency

3

5

6

11

6

Consultant

27

27

21

28

34

Equipment Management

40

48

55

51

48

Executive Recruiter

3

2

2

3

3

Multi-Line Commercial Finance Co.

52

54

62

69

72

Investment Bank

5

7

7

8

6

Insurance Company

5

6

4

5

7

Independent Finance Company

140

140

129

126

142

Law Firm

87

91

93

95

90

Publisher

2

2

2

1

1

Software Provider

24

23

24

26

27

574

583

565

682

604

1 University/gov't member (2014/2013)

Undoubtedly ELFA is the association with the most members, the largest staff, the most active in both state and national legislation.

ELFA events and conferences have the largest turnout without any doubt (conferences are usually more than the others combined).

That the group lost members can be explained by the mergers, acquisitions, and changing industry. But first, look at the loss of 9 members, the most serious in equipment management--- down 8, captive down 4, law firms down 4, and a few smaller ones.

ELFA-member equipment management companies include:

CAT Auction Services

Greyson Equipment, LLC

J.J. Kane Appraisal Services

InPlace Auction

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

The category of equipment management companies involves organizations involved primarily in services related to equipment remarketing, recovery, valuation, and appraisal. This segment of the membership is reportedly always the most volatile as they are typically smaller organizations—some of them start-ups—looking to provide services to equipment finance companies. Oftentimes, they compete with well-established service providers who have served the industry for years. As a result, some of them exit the industry.

Look at the growth in the bank category, up 13 members. This is part of the thrust of the campaign last year to indicate to the banking community the diversity of products of leasing and finance, as well as the involvement in various states and in Washington, D.C.
http://www.elfaonline.org/Membership/CB/

Perhaps the number one win for ELFA is the outstanding campaign to represent the industry in the debate about changing accounting rules.

It also should be noted ELFA member groups are very active and involved, as well as the directors and executive officers.

This is definitely the top leasing and finance association to join.

The ELFA LinkedIn.com group has 9,730 members.

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Basic

113

106

100

99

99

Industry Leader

155

118

126

100

93

Individual & Government

20

20

18

22

24

Limited

22

35

26

25

22

Emeritus

5

5

4

4

4

315

284

274

250

238

36 new members! Each year the Association of Government Leasing & Finance increases its membership, particularly in both basic and industry leader. The basic category allows only four members "with access to AGLF resources, publications, member conference rates and support." Industry leader allows access to all employees and is for larger companies.

The growing numbers indicate new members are entering this marketplace and this is best place to network and learn what is "happening." It should be noted the ELFA gives its support to this association and should also be given credit for the increase in membership. It should also be pointed out the member companies make this a large group and don't be deceived by the actual member numbers.

This is also a very “tight” group. To improve your “acceptance,” it is recommended that you attend several events and participate actively.

Brian Cove, Chief Operating Officer, Commercial Finance Association told Leasing News that the CFA currently has 280 corporate members, with more than 5000 employees. Employees of each corporate member enjoy the benefits of CFA membership. The members are more involved in account receivable financing and loans, asset financing, business loans, dealer financing, factoring, as well as capital leases and some operating leasing.

The merger with the National Funding Association did not increase their membership significantly despite the claim of over 400 paying members. Unofficially perhaps up to 2,500 who attend their monthly luncheons through the United States, did not increase their membership significantly. The intention was to get them involved. (1)

CFA conferences are very well attended. Note the many networking meetings continue. The LinkedIn.com CFA Group has 8,552 members.

Please note the many chapters and regional meetings. This is real networking:

While this group has basically not increased its total membership, it has increased its number of funders and therefore should be considered a larger group than last year.

Ironically there are less broker members each year and the four year trend shows an increase in funding source members.

NAELB was started in 1991 by a small group of brokers basically for brokers only as the other associations did not include them at the time (only brokers can vote, although other groups such as funders may join as a member). Barry S. Marks and Joseph Bonanno, CLP, who have worked for members at all times of the day and for no pay. They both were directly involved with the small groups survival. In 1998, Bonnano succeeded Barry Marks, CLP as NAELB Legal Counsel. He remains on the board of directors. He is a paid counsel, receiving compensation for his time on NAELB matters, as well as board meetings with his expenses paid by the association. Cindy Spurdle was the first part-time manager (she later went to work for the United Association Equipment Leasing then became executive director of the CLP Foundation.) On May 9, 2000 the NAELB board voted to turn management of the association over to Prime Management, who ran it for seven years until FSA took over for 10 years, with Monica Harper as executive director.

January 1, 2014: Fernley & Fernley took over as the management firm with Jessica Widing, Executive Director, as the main contact. The first project was creating a new web site from the old one run by FSA. There were complaints about it and the transition is underway for an improvement, especially with the forum, which is basically a blog for members to communicate with each other (originally a Listserve).

While the National Equipment Finance Association has increased its membership by 14, it has lost funders in the last five years. Since its creation from the merger of the Eastern Association of Equipment Lessors and United Association of Equipment Leasing, it has not met the combined predecessors’ numbers (at the time of the merger, it was reported 70 members belonged to each).

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2003

2002

2001

2000

ELFA

574

583

565

582

604

700

741

768

817

780

732

862

873

850

NAELB

557

557

617

696

847

1021

1089

950

731

648

480

433

415

475

AGLFA

315

285

274

250

238

265

277

255

255

255

203

263

343

250

NEFA

207

193

191

210

274

EAEL

*

*

*

*

*

183

181

196

198

180

191

216

227

240

UAEL

*

*

*

*

*

289

314

314

314

297

248

378

379

589

It should be noted the NEFA Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico in March last year drew 140 attendees and 220 attended at the October Funding Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The association also reported, "Net operating revenues were up over fifty percent from the previous year."

In 2004, there were 223 Certified Lease Professionals, then the great recession came around and all associations saw a reduction. In addition, the foundation has seen a number of its members retire, such as Jerry Newell, formerly at Bank of the West.

In 2013, 14 did not renew, perhaps retired, but the good news: 27 new CLP's. There are also younger professionals joining as companies are realizing the value of having an employee who is a CLP.

Certainly Reid Raykovich, CLP, Executive Director, and her board of directors had a dynamic year in 2013. In addition to the new web site and other changes, for the first time, there are many companies with more than just one CLP:

Arizona Equipment Leasing Association at one time has an estimated 25 members. No official count is available at this time. The group is active. They get together for social and business meetings during the year, even invite speakers.

The Equipment Financing and Leasing Foundation does not have members. It does have a board of directors as well as contributors but is not a “membership organization.” It is under the wing of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. It is supported by donations.

Phil Dushey has been active in the finance and leasing industry for the over 35 years. His first company was Global Financial Services, which is still active and successful today. Global specializes in all types of financing such as equipment leasing, accounts receivable financing, debt restructuring, and establishing lines of credit. Mr. Dushey feels that to be competitive in today's expanding financial climate a company must be able to service all of his clients needs not just equipment leasing.

In 1989, Mr. Dushey saw a need for a company that would serve the needs of churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship throughout the country for equipment Leasing. At the time, most financing sources were reticent regarding religious institutions. He then formed Global Church Financing. It continues to be the leading company in providing financing to churches and other religious institutions today.

In 2001, Mr. Dushey fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams and formed Global Financial Training Program. He believes it is the most comprehensive and successful training school in the country to train people who want to enter the finance and leasing business. The program includes everything they need to enter the business. He says he very much enjoys teaching how to make money in the finance industry based on 35 years of experience.

Mr. Dushey is a founding member of the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers. He has been a member and speaker at many leasing organizations for several years.

He and his wife Laurie have been married for 44 years, with six grandchildren, three boys and three girls age 6, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 18.

www.maximcc.com
Maxim Commercial Capital is a commercial finance
company committed to fostering the growth of
small and middle market companies by providing
creative and flexible asset-backed financing solutions

Help Wanted Classified Ads

Cost$595 four HTML lines
(note, a space is counted as a line)
$40 for each additional line or space

The classified ad will appear for 21 days.

The idea is to attract an applicant to learn more, either to click to a full description on your web site or to a full job description attachment (free, no charge).

All "Help Wanted" ads go into the "Help Wanted" classified ad section, which appears in each news edition, and is well read. The ad will also appear on the web site for those who go directly to the web site section.

A "Help Wanted" ad appears at the top of the headlines in each edition in a chronological basis with other help wanted ads. The position cannot be purchased. The ad also continues to appear in the classified ad section in the news edition as well as the web site in addition to appearing above the headlines. If there is only one help wanted ad, a display ad may be utilized in the rotation basis as this position, meaning the one help wanted ad is not going to be on top in every edition.

In an effort to offset sluggish revenue trends amid a slow-growth environment, KeyCorp in mid-2012 launched a companywide efficiency initiative aimed at carving out costs and boosting the bank's bottom line.

At the heart of the effort: branch consolidation. Between June 2012 and the end of 2013, the Cleveland-based company consolidated 81 branch locations, or approximately 8% of its franchise. Over the past 18 months, Key implemented annualized cost savings of $241 million.

"Efficiency and positive operating leverage are becoming part of the fabric of Key," Chairman, President and CEO Beth Mooney told analysts this month after posting fourth-quarter 2013 net income attributable to common shareholders of $224 million, or 25 cents per share. That was up from $197 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.

Key is hardly alone. Banks collectively reduced the U.S. branch total by 1,487 locations in 2013, an SNL analysis found.

Bank of America Corp., PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and SunTrust Banks Inc. closed even more branches than Key during 2013. Capital One Financial Corp., Hancock Holding Co. and Citigroup Inc. were among others actively trimming branch counts, as lenders of all sizes grapple with weak revenue growth and heavy compliance costs that are motivating them to reduce the fixed expenses tied to large branch networks. . [This is also a response to the continuing consumer trend toward mobile financial transactions that further reduces the need for brick-and-mortar locations. Editor]

As previously reported in Leasing News, many companies, in addition to shuttering or selling off branches, are working to reduce the number as well as the size of their branches or are at least considering the possibility. Webster Financial Corp. is closing branches and downsizing others. Some branches that average 3,000 square feet in size are undergoing redesigns that will cut space in half, the company has said.

Mergers and acquisitions also play a role in branch reductions. Banks often consolidate branches with overlapping territories after closing deals to save costs. And many industry observers anticipate that M&A will pick up in 2014, particularly among community banks.

Smaller banks are wrestling with lofty compliance costs, slow loan growth and tough competition from larger banks, leading many analysts to believe that more of these lenders will look to sell this year. "I think the pace picks up significantly," Mark Fitzgibbon, director of research at Sandler O'Neill and Partners LP, told SNL.

In terms of geography, the greatest levels of reductions were in some of the most populous metropolitan regions in the country: Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City. The Los Angeles area bucked that trend, with branch totals rising in 2013.

Fourth Quarter of New Business reported by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) MFLI-25 reflects the weather which may be effecting not only Central and East Coast, but the West Coast with its drought. This “foul weather” really began in October--- new business fell from $7.6 billion to $6.6 in November.

(Chart: Leasing News)

Generally December is the best month of the year, which it was again, $10.7 billion, but it was actually colder than the last two Decembers:

MLFI-25 New Business Volume (Year Over Year Comparison)
click to make larger
(Chart: ELFA)

These numbers do not match the published year-end numbers of the publically held companies in the lease and finance industry, nor the independents, who all reported positive growth, less losses, and better profits. While margins were not as good as they wanted, the profit was there.

It appears only independent brokers are crying to Leasing News about lack of sources and business 2013.

William G. Sutton, CAE
ELFA President and CEO

"Overall, 2013 was a very good year for many ELFA members: the cumulative growth data for the year bear this out," ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said.

The optimism is not only in the year-end reports as noted by Sutton, but from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation Monthly Confidence Report who found a "... confidence in the equipment finance market is 64.9, the highest confidence level in two years, and an increase from the December index of 55.8. An improved general outlook for economic activity among industry leadership contributed to the increase."

The Foundation report quoted the following industry leaders:

Thomas Jaschik, President, BB&T Equipment Finance:“I believe the general outlook for economic activity has swung to the positive. As a result, companies will likely begin to make substantial investments in the growth of their companies. The equipment finance market will benefit as a result of this increased investment.”

Valerie Hayes Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc.:
“I am optimistic that the economy seems to be gaining some momentum, even though there is still much uncertainty as it relates to the Affordable Care Act, congressional budgeting and Dodd-Frank. Businesses have made up their minds to grow in spite of a less than nurturing regulatory environment.”

Paul Menzel, President & CEO, Financial Pacific Leasing, LLC:
“December was the best origination month we've had in five years. While January is experiencing the seasonal holiday hangover, small businesses seem now inclined to invest in capital equipment again.”

David Schaefer, CEO, Mintaka Financial, LLC:, “We’re optimistic about 2014 as we come off of a very strong Q4. The recent federal budget deal is positive since it takes some uncertainty out of the market. Employment gains were also positive and this should bring more equipment demand and, therefore, financing opportunities. Margins are still being compressed as capital is abundant but demand remains fairly neutral.”

Elaine Temple, President, BancorpSouth Equipment Finance:
“I am cautiously optimistic. Customers have indicated that they will replace and slightly expand in 2014 to meet the additional needs of their customers.”

Perhaps the horrible weather has played a role in the economy, as well as the days of Thanksgiving and Christmas falling in the middle of the week. What perhaps should be of most concern is the first quarter, the lowest quarter volume consistently since in the MFLI-25 reports. The five funders above believe 2014 will change this pattern.

(Chart: Leasing News)

Here are the other statistics from the ELFA MFLI-25 December report:

Aging of Receivables:
click to make larger

Average Losses (Charge-offs) as a % of net receivables
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Credit Approval Ratios As % of all Decisions Submitted
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Total Number of Employees
(Year Over Year Comparison)
click image to make larger

Originally noted in Emily Fitzgerald's Leasing News Career Crossroads Monday column regarding resolutions for the new year, readers may have missed this. Nine of the fifteen are "free," others have a "free trial" or a monthly or annual fee.

ST. LOUIS, —Equipment leasing and finance veteran Bob Rinaldi joined King Commercial Finance as chief executive officer (CEO) in January, teaming up with Scott Hawkins, the president, in leading this St. Louis, Mo.–based national equipment finance company. Founded in 1982, King Commercial Finance provides equipment financing for companies of all sizes and specializes in implementing sales aid finance programs for manufacturers, vendors and distributors of capital equipment to the commercial and industrial sector

Scott Hawkins
President

“We are pleased to have Bob leading our vision and strategy,” said Hawkins. “Recognized as an industry thought leader, he is known for his forward thinking and entrepreneurial energy. We’ve spent the last two decades refining our operational processes, building market expertise, and strengthening our relationships with manufacturers and dealers. Combining our individual talents presents some exciting growth prospects."

Robert Rinaldi
Chair-elect, ELFA

Rinaldi, formerly senior vice president at CSI Leasing, also headquartered in St. Louis, said he will be focused on King Commercial Finance’s expansion plans in the commercial and industrial (C&I) equipment financing sector and in sustainable energy initiatives predominantly in the “built space.”

“I am excited to partner with Scott and his outstanding team,” said Rinaldi. “He has built a dynamic and well-established company – one with a solid customer base and an innovative culture with a great vibe. They are well positioned for growth.”

Before his nearly four-year engagement with CSI Leasing, Rinaldi served as executive vice president of the $8 billion in assets bank-owned lessor, National City Commercial Capital (now PNC Equipment Finance), and president of National City Commercial Capital Canada, where he established the NC4 brand and the company’s reputation in Canada.

His experience includes developing new revenue streams – organically, by starting up new business divisions and inorganically, through acquisitions and international expansion. Before NC4, Rinaldi and his partners founded Information Leasing Corporation (ILC) in 1984, which they subsequently sold to Provident Bank of Cincinnati, later acquired by National City Bank. Rinaldi is chairman elect of the board of directors of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), the industry’s American trade association in Washington, D.C., and an active member of the Research Committee of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation. He has served also as chairman of LeasePAC, the industry's political action committee, and as a trustee of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation. In 2010, Rinaldi launched the website, LeasingAvenues.com, to provide video interviews with leasing pioneers and innovators, and he is a frequent contributor to leasing industry media and forums on topics of entrepreneurism and asset finance.

King Commercial Finance is a privately owned company and member of the ELFA.

Small-Business Financing Solution for Large Business
By Jeffrey Sweeney,
CEO and Managing Director
US Capital Partners, LLC

On my way to Europe, I met a CFO who, like me, had just missed a flight because of a delayed connection. That turned out to be fortunate for both of us, because as we were waiting for our next flight, we talked about his large company and a financing problem he was faced with, and found a creative solution to the issue he was trying to resolve.

It turns out this CFO is running a leading worldwide manufacturing firm that supplies companies like Calvin Klein and Diesel. This was a $400 million publicly traded company. However, the company’s European bank was no longer able to provide it with the credit it needed for all its divisional operations abroad. The smaller divisions were no longer allowed to be part of the parent company’s borrowing base. This large public company had a foreign subsidiary selling directly to the United States, where the company had a modest sales office. Financing was proving costly for the business, because it was more difficult to perfect title on these accounts receivable assets originating abroad.

Solution: Big Company in Need of a Small-Company
Financing Approach

US Capital Partners advised the CFO to make an inter-company transfer of its merchandise to its US-based company, which then would generate the invoices to its US customers. This resolved the collateral securitization issue. Through this simple but highly effective solution, US Capital Partners was able to secure a very reasonably priced credit facility of $6–8 million for the company’s foreign subsidiary, using these newly created US-based assets as collateral.

Many larger companies have divisions that need financing. In today’s more onerous and regulated lending climate, these companies are sometimes finding themselves “underbanked.” Traditional unitranche loans from the commercial banks continue to be difficult to find. CFOs of big companies are therefore finding themselves increasingly in need of small-company financing solutions. Whatever the size of your business, if you have unmet small-company financing needs, you should contact us.

About US Capital Partners, LLCSince 1998, US Capital Partners (www.uscapitalpartners.net), has been providing prompt, innovative, and reliable financing solutions including lending, equity financing, and debt re-structuring to businesses across the United States and abroad. US Capital Partners is a private investment bank, direct lender, co-lender, and lead financial arranger that specializes in asset-based debt for small to middle market private and public companies. The company’s innovative approach allows it to provide the best financing available, not only for companies in excellent financial condition, but also for companies that may have been refused credit by traditional lenders.

Carlsbad, California - A leading provider of small business financing has launched a new innovative financing solution. Catering specifically to retail businesses, manufacturers, dealers, and commercial suppliers Innovative Lease Services, Inc. (ILS), now offers Inventory Finance.

Andrew Neere
CEO, ILS

"By providing Inventory loans to small retailers, manufacturers, and distributors, we are filling a much needed void left by the banks, “

Andrew Neere, CEO of ILS said. “The majority of businesses who are underserved by traditional bank lending now have a resource to help grow their businesses. Most importantly, we can deliver funds up to $250,000 within 3 business days of application. We are the only provider in the market that we know of who can support small businesses in this manner."

Nere believes what separates the ILS Inventory Finance program from other programs available in the market is the convenient and flexible payment arrangements.

“ILS offers the option of having the funds transferred directly into the business' bank account, or we can pay the business' inventory supplier directly,” he said. “Best of all, the repayment terms match the business' sales cycle, thus repayment occurs as revenues are received.”

On track to meet US$2 billion railcar portfolio target over the next 24 months

Element Financial announces that it has completed its second railcar portfolio acquisition with the purchase of an additional further US$396 million worth of leased railcars from Dallas-based Trinity Industries, the leading railcar manufacturer in North America.

(Combined with the first sale of leased railcars executed last month, Trinity has sold a portfolio of leased railcars with a value of approximately $501 million from its lease fleet under the alliance. As previously disclosed, Element is expected to purchase an additional $500 million of leased railcars this year primarily consisting of new TrinityRail manufactured railcars, the majority of which are in Trinity's current leasing order backlog. The remaining $1 billion of purchases by Element under the targeted $2 billion alliance are expected to occur in 2015 and may include a combination of newly manufactured railcars, existing TILC leased railcars, as well as secondary market purchases.
Editor.)

(Trinity will not have any remaining ownership interest in the leased railcars sold to Element. Trinity Industries Leasing Company ("TILC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trinity, will act as servicer of the railcars sold to Element per the terms of the alliance. Editor.)

Steven K. Hudson
Chairman/CEO
Element Financial

“Element is in the business of re-equipping North American industry with the capital assets needed to support the US recovery and drive continued economic growth,” said Steven K. Hudson, Element’s Chairman and CEO. “Through the strategic relationships that we have developed with Trinity Industries and other leading equipment manufacturers serving the North American industrial heartland, together with the positive impact of US/Canadian exchange rates, we expect to originate more than $3.8 billion of new equipment loans and leases in 2014 including a total of $1.35 billion in railcar assets of which approximately US$1 billion is expected from our Trinity alliance,” added Mr. Hudson.

About Bella:" Bella is a sweet, waggy 3 year short haired lab mix, with lots of love and affection to give. When the other dogs are playing, Bella will sneak away and come put her head on my lap to get some one-on-one time. She's great with all dogs, male or female. *Definitely a cat chaser, though!* Bella is housetrained - never had any accidents. She is eager to please, and is training up quickly - already she knows "sit", "stay" and "wait". She is being spayed this week and will be available for adoption this weekend (Feb 2)!"

Birmingham, Alabama
The lawyers of Marks & Associates, P.C. have over 30 years experience in dealing with virtually every type of equipment financing and are recognized throughout the industry for prompt, practical solutions and exemplary service. They offer cost-conscious, effective lease enforcement and good counsel.
Email: Barry@leaselawyer.comWebsite:www.leaselawyers.com

California & NevadaLeasing and Financial consultant, active in several leasing
associations, as well as involved in music and film productioncin LA. Mention "Leasing News" for a free consultation.
415-858-97111
Skype: 424.235.1658
or kenlaw100@gmail.

Long Beach, CA Wagner & Zielinski, successfully representing lessees/ lessors. Not a member of any leasing organization, therefore not beholden to special interests. Richard Wagner
(562) 216-2952 www.wzlawyers.com

Long Beach CA.Paul Bent -- 30 years experience in all forms of equipment leasing, secured lending, and asset based transactions, from analysis and deal structuring to contract negotiations to closing to private dispute resolution. (562) 426-1000www.paulbent.com

1737- Thomas Paine, American Revolutionary leader, a corset-maker by trade, author of “Common Sense”, “The Age of Reason”, “Rights of Man”, and many other influential works, was born at Thetford, England. "These are the times that try men's souls" are the well-known opening words of his inspirational tract, “The Crisis”, which holds the records for the most widely read in relation to the population in American History and was a major influence on the American Revolution. Paine also is known for proposing the government subsidy of steamboat building in America, that opened commerce and the great expansion of the country. He died at New York, NY, June 8, 1809, but 10 years later his remains were moved to England by William Cobbett for reburial there. Reburial was refused, however, and the location of Paine's bones, said to have been distributed, is unknown.

1780 - On the coldest morning of one of the most severe winters of record in the northeast, the mercury dipped to 16 degrees below zero at New York City, and reached 20 degrees below zero at Hartford, CT. New York harbor was frozen for 5 weeks, allowing the British to transport a heavy cannon across the ice to help fortify Staten Island.

1802 - John Beckley became the first Librarian of Congress with the starting salary of $2 a day. He served until his death on April 8, 1807. The first library catalog, dated April, 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine maps. Until 1815, when George Watterston was appointed, the librarians were also the clerks of the House of Representatives.

1834 -Federal Troops Quell First Labor Dispute

The banks of the Potomac River erupted in violence, as workers on the then-unfinished Chesapeake and Ohio Canal rioted after a planned strike was brutally extinguished. Never exactly a fast friend of indecision or conciliatory action, President Andrew Jackson swiftly called on Secretary of War Lewis Cass to send Federal troops in to quell the workers. While this was an eventful moment for the nation—it marked the first, though hardly the last time Federal troops were deployed to settle a labor "dispute"—it was just another roadblock in the troubled history of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Originally conceived as a transit and trade friendly route between the Midwest and Atlantic seaports, the canal was periodically delayed by fiscal woes, stiff competition from the Erie Canal, as well as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. When construction began in 1828, the canal was designed to reach Pittsburgh. By the time the project was abandoned in 1850, the waterway reached Cumberland, MD. Flooding forced the closing of the canal in 1924; it was bought by the U.S. government in 1938 and transformed into a national historic park in 1971.

1843- birthday of William McKinley, 25th president of the US (1897-1901), born at Niles, OH. For the third time in the nation's history, a president was assassinated. On September 6, President McKinley was visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. While greeting visitors he was shot twice in the abdomen by a young anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, who was carrying a concealed piston in a handkerchief. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43 years old, became the youngest person to hold the presidential office. Ironically, according to historians, Conservative Republicans had elected McKinley, but to keep what they considered "too liberal" New York Theodore Roosevelt "in line," plus gather votes, they choose him to fill what they considered a "harmless post." This was a period of muckraking journalists such as Frank Norris and Lincoln Steffens exposing the corruption in government and government controlled industries such as wheat, railroad tariffs and land acquisition. "The Octopus", published this year by Norris, dealt with the struggles of farmers in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Forty years later John Steinbeck was to continue the saga.

1845- "The Raven" is published. Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem beginning "Once upon a midnight dreary," is published in the New York Evening Mirror. Poe's dark and macabre work reflected his own tumultuous and difficult life. Born in Boston in 1809, Poe was orphaned at age three and went to live with the family of a Richmond, Virginia businessman. Poe enrolled in a military academy but was expelled for gambling. He later studied briefly at the University of Virginia. In 1827, Poe self-published a collection of poems. Six years later, his short story "MS Found in a Bottle" won $50 in a story contest. He edited a series of literary journals, including the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond starting in 1835, and Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia, starting in 1839. Poe's excessive drinking got him fired from several positions. His macabre work, often portraying motiveless crimes and intolerable guilt that induced growing mania in his characters, was a significant influence on such European writers as Charles Baudelaire, Stephane Mallarme, and even Dostoyevsky.

1847- the 500 men of the US Mormon Battalion, along with 50 women and children, arrived at San Diego, CA. Having marched 2,000 miles since leaving Council Bluffs, Iowa on July 16, 1846, to fight in the war against Mexico, it was the longest march in modern military history. In the course of their trek they established the first wagon route from Sante Fe to Southern California. Their arrival is commemorated each year with a military parade in San Diego’s Old Town.

1861- Kansas became the 34th state. Known as the Sunflower State, the capital is Topeka. Kansas, the Jayhawk State, is named so because before and during the War Between the States, guerillas in the antislavery camp ... known as jayhawkers ... were extremely active in the Kansas territory. The pro- and anti-slavery groups fought such vicious battles that the state was referred to as ‘Bleeding Kansas’.

Trouble in territorial Kansas began with the signing of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act by President Franklin Pierce. The act stipulated that settlers in the newly created territories of Nebraska and Kansas would decide by popular vote whether their territory would be free or slave. In early 1855, Kansas’ first election proved a violent affair as over 5,000 Border Ruffians invaded the territory from western Missouri and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. The territory’s admittance into the Union in January of 1861 only increased tension, but, just three-and-a-half-months later, the irrepressible differences in Kansas were swallowed up by the full-scale outbreak of the American Civil War. During the Civil War, Kansas suffered the highest rate of fatal casualties of any Union state, largely due to its great internal divisions over the issue of slavery.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan29.html

1861- Linus Yale, Jr. gets a patent for his invention of a pin-tumbler cylinder. The pin-tumbler cylinder lock with a thin, flat key, still the basis for many combination locks today, was the most successful of Yale’s many lock inventions, which included the first dial combination bank lock and a double bank lock that required two keys to open.

1863 -- Bear Hunter, leader of a Shoshone band, and 224 others were massacred in village on Bear River near Great Salt Lake, Utah.

http://www.utahhistorytogo.org/brmassacre.html

1856 -Light earthquake felt at the Mission Dolores.

1872-African-American Francis L Cardoza elected State Treasurer of South Carolina. He served until 1876 when his enemies accused him of taking money, but he was found not guilty. He later served as a teacher at Howard University, received a law degree and served on several boards. In his later life, he was principal of a high school.

http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/43.htm

http://stills.nap.edu/btw/Vol.3/html/118.html

1877 – A highly partisan Electoral Commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, was established by Congress to settle the election of Democrat Samuel Tilden for President against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Under the terms of the Tilden-Hayes Election Compromise, Hayes became President and the Republicans agreed to remove the last Federal troops from Southern territory, ending Reconstruction. On election night, 1776, it was clear that Tilden had won the popular vote, but it was also clear that votes in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon were fraudulent because of voter intimidation. Republicans knew that if the electoral votes from these four states were thrown out, Hayes would win. The country hovered near civil war as both Democrats and Republicans claimed victory. Illustrator Thomas Nast drew his cartoon, ”Tilden or Blood,” showing the Democrats threatening violence.

1879- Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana established

http://www.nps.gov/libi/

http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=3124&SiteID=1

1880-Birthday of W.C. Fields, stage and motion picture actor (“My Little Chickadee”), screen writer and expert juggler. Born Claude William Dukenfeld at Philadelphia, PA, died Dec 25, 1946. He wrote his own epitaph: “On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.”

1896 - United States physician Emile Grubbe became the first to use radiation treatment for breast cancer on his patient, Rose Lee of Chicago.

1889 -- 6,000 railway workers strike for union and end of 18-hour day.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/rrstrike.html

1891- Following the death of her brother, King Kalakaua, Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii, first settled by Polynesian voyagers sometime in the eighth century, saw a massive influx of American settlers during the nineteenth century, most coming to exploit Hawaii’s burgeoning sugar industry. In 1887, under pressure from US investors and American sugar planters, King Kalakaua agreed to a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. However, in 1891, Liliuokalani ascended to the throne and refused to recognize the constitution of 1887, replacing it instead with a constitution that restored the monarchy’s traditional authority. Two years later, a revolutionary "Committee of Safety," organized by Sanford B. Dole, a Hawaiian-born American, staged a coup against Queen Liliuokalani with the support of US Minister John Stevens and a division of US marines. On February 1, 1893, Stevens recognized Dole’s new government on his own authority and proclaimed Hawaii a US protectorate.

1900 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the American Baseball League was organized. The Philadelphia Athletics, owned by Connie Mack, were original members of the league. Mack would manage the team for fifty years.

1901-Birthday of Allen Du Mont. My father worked for Dr. Dumont in the late 1940’s as a TV writer-producer for “Harlem Detective,” “Captain Video,” “Hands of Mystery.” I used to put “exploding” practical joke in his cigars, and one day at a board meeting, he gave one to Dr. Dumont, who lit it up. My father used to tell me this story often, as Dr. DuMont thought it was very funny and that my father had done it on purpose. Allen Du Mont perfected the cathode-ray tube and manufactured the first commercially available television sets. Brooklyn-born Du Mont worked as chief engineer at De Forest Radio Company until 1931, when his interest in television led him to start his own company, the Allen B. Du Mont Lab. In 1937, he offered his television receivers for sale and set up experimental broadcasting stations. Du Mont continued to shape the television industry. He helped formulate broadcast standards for black and white--and later, color--television, and he worked with the FCC to allocate frequencies for television channels.

http://xoteria.com/DUMONT.html

1912-In Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile companies were angered when in 1911 state law reduced the workweek for women and children from 56 to 54 hours. They retaliated by increasing the workload, but not the wages. The workers responded with a massive strike. Workers had been averaging $8.76 for a 56-hour work week when a state law made 54 hours the maximum for women and for minors under 18. The companies reduced all hours to 54 but refused to raise wage rates to make up for the average loss of 31 cents per week suffered by each worker because of the reduction in hours. This caused the walkout which rocked the great New England textile industry. Under the aggressive leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World the strike became front-page news throughout the country. Over twenty thousand men, women and children won concessions by staying out of work for ten weeks. A song “Bread and Roses” became popular with the strikers, actually becoming a “marching song” and the rallying cry of the strike. The strikers--largely Russian Jewish, Eastern European and southern Italian immigrants, although 54 languages were spoken in the mills--learned the art of mass protest. Forming a human chain, they took over the main streets of Lawrence on Jan. 29. After failed attempts to disperse strikers by dousing them with water in the freezing January cold, officers fired into the crowd. A young Italian woman, Anna LoPizzo, was killed. News reports from the time focused on predictions about the "ascendancy of white-skinned races" in Lawrence. They promised that illiterate immigrants couldn't possibly organize themselves on their own. The strikers, running out of food and money, decided to adopt a European tactic, of sending their children to stay with families outside the city. Four hundred letters were received from New York City who wanted the children, and on February 10 over 100 aged 4 to 14 were sent. They were greeted at Grand Central Station by 5,000 Italian socialists singing the "Marseillaise" and the "Internationale". The following week another 100 came to NY and 35 to Barre, Vt. It was becoming clear: if the children were taken care of, the strikers would stay out, for their spirit was high. The city officials in Lawrence, citing a statute on child neglect, said no more children would be permitted to leave.

Despite the city edict, a group of 40 children assembled on February 24 to go to Philadelphia. The railroad station was filled with police, & the scene that followed was described to Congressmen by a member of the Women's Committee of Philadelphia: "When the time approached to depart, the children arranged in a long line, two by two, in orderly procession, with their parents near at hand, were about to make their way to the train when police closed in on us with their clubs, beating right & left, with no thought of the children, who were in the most desperate danger of being trampled to death. The mothers & children were thus hurled in a mass & bodily dragged to a military truck, & even then clubbed, irrespective of the cries of the panic-stricken women & children..." After ten weeks the strikers won important concessions from the woolen companies, not only for themselves but also for 250,000 textile workers throughout New England. During one of the many parades conducted by the strikers some young girls carried a banner with the slogan: "We want bread and roses too." This inspired James Oppenheim to write his poem, "Bread and Roses," which was set to music by Caroline Kohlsaat, There is also an Italian song with the same title, "Pan e Rose," written by the Italian-American poet Arturo Giovannitti which is used by the Italian Dressmakers' Local 89 of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/03.10.99/women3-9910.html

http://www.laborheritage.org/iall-ma.html

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAettor.htm

http://1912.history.ohio-state.edu/labor/FirstDays.htm

http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/breadrose.html

1919 - 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Its enforcement was authorized by the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, otherwise known as the Volstead Act on 28 October 1919. The Coast Guard had been tasked with the prevention of the maritime importation of illegal alcohol. This led to the largest increase in the size and responsibilities of the service to date.

1921-the great "Olympic Blowdown" commenced in the Pacific Northwest as a small but intense windstorm funneled along the mountains and downed vast expanses of Douglas Fir trees. 8 billion board feet of timber was destroyed. Winds at North Head, WA gusted as high as 113 mph.

1923 – Birthday of film and TV writer Paddy Chayevsky, born The Bronx, New York. He eventually made a name for himself writing radio and teleplays, one of which became 1955's “Marty”, a touching tale of a homely butcher and lonely schoolteacher that won Chayefsky his first Oscar. (His first credit was 1951's “As Young As You Feel”, which was adapted from his story.) Dividing his work between Hollywood and Broadway over the next two decades, Chayefsky penned a series of acerbic works that were often heavy on social commentary, like “The Bachelor Party” (1957), the Marilyn Monroe-inspired “The Goddess” (1958), “The Hospital” (1971), which won him his second Oscar, and “Network” (1976), which brought in a third. He also adapted such films as “The Americanization of Emily” (1964) and “Paint Your Wagon” (1969). Chayefsky's last film was the Ken Russell extravaganza “Altered States” (1980). The director's decision to have the actors deliver Chayefsky's dialogue in breathless, rapid-fire manner so infuriated the author that he had his name withdrawn from the credits. He did a teleplay called "The Man Who Loved Dickens," based on a section of Evelyn Waugh's “A Handful of Dust”, about an illiterate man in a South American jungle who holds a lost explorer captive so the latter can read Dickens to him. Died August 1, 1981, New York City, NY

1924- Carl Rutherford Taylor of Cleveland, OH, obtained a patent for his invention of an ice cream cone rolling machine. It was a “machine for spinning or turning a waffle”, enabling ice cream cones

to become very popular.

1926- The first African-American female lawyer admitted to practice before the Supreme Court was Violette Anderson of Chicago, Illinois.

1928-Birthday of vocalist Joan Shaw, Newport News, V

http://www.officepark.co.uk/salena-jones/biog2.htm

1929 -- Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms.

http://www.seeingeye.org/AboutUs.asp

1929- Glen “Fireball” Roberts, auto racer, born at Daytona Beach, FL. Roberts was one of the most popular stock car racers in NASCAR history. He won 35 races in 206 starts from 1950 to 1964 when he was critically injured in a fiery crash. Died at Charlotte, NC, July 7, 1964 [in a crash???].

1929--Drummer Ed Shaughnessy birthday

http://www.angelfire.com/mac/keepitlive/drummers/ed.htm

http://www.promark-stix.com/ss/artists/EdS.html

1934 - As a result of a compliment from Walter Winchell's newspaper column, a local disc jockey began getting offers from talent scouts and producers. The DJ became known as Redhead, to those in Washington, DC and later, by millions across the United States on CBS radio and television. His trademark, strumming a ukulele and delivering down-home talk, endeared him to fans. His name was Arthur Godfrey. He became more famous on TV in the 1950's, often broadcasting from Hawaii.

Rank and organization: First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 508th Parachute Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Place and date: Holzheim, Belgium, 29 January 1945. Entered service at: Wilkinsburg, Pa. Birth: Braddock Township, Pa. G.O. No.: 75, 5 September 1945. Citation: He distinguished himself by gallant, intrepid actions against the enemy. After advancing 15 miles in a driving snowstorm, the American force prepared to attack through waist-deep drifts. The company executive officer became a casualty, and 1st Sgt. Funk immediately assumed his duties, forming headquarters soldiers into a combat unit for an assault in the face of direct artillery shelling and harassing fire from the right flank. Under his skillful and courageous leadership, this miscellaneous group and the 3d Platoon attacked 15 houses, cleared them, and took 30 prisoners without suffering a casualty. The fierce drive of Company C quickly overran Holzheim, netting some 80 prisoners, who were placed under a 4-man guard, all that could be spared, while the rest of the under strength unit went about mopping up isolated points of resistance. An enemy patrol, by means of a ruse, succeeded in capturing the guards and freeing the prisoners, and had begun preparations to attack Company C from the rear when 1st Sgt. Funk walked around the building and into their midst. He was ordered to surrender by a German officer who pushed a machine pistol into his stomach. Although overwhelmingly outnumbered and facing almost certain death, 1st Sgt. Funk, pretending to comply with the order, began slowly to unsling his submachine gun from his shoulder and then, with lightning motion, brought the muzzle into line and riddled the German officer. He turned upon the other Germans, firing and shouting to the other Americans to seize the enemy's weapons. In the ensuing fight 21 Germans were killed, many wounded, and the remainder captured. 1st Sgt. Funk's bold action and heroic disregard for his own safety were directly responsible for the recapture of a vastly superior enemy force, which, if allowed to remain free, could have taken the widespread units of Company C by surprise and endangered the entire attack plan.

1950- Heavyweight Jack Dempsey was voted the greatest boxer of the first half of the 20th century in a poll of sportswriters and broadcasters conducted by the Associated Press. Dempsey polled 251 votes to runner-up Joe Louis’s 104.

1954---Birthday of Oprah Winfrey, America's most popular TV talk show host who garnered an Academy Award nomination for her startlingly marvelous depiction in the movie “The Color Purple” (1985).

1957---Top Hits

Singing the Blues - Guy Mitchell

Don’t Forbid Me - _Pat Boone

Jamaica Farewell - Harry Belafonte

Singing the Blues - Marty Robbins

1958- Paul Newman marries Joanne Woodward, creating one of the most enduring of Hollywood marriages. The couple became politically active, lobbying for liberal causes and supporting Democratic candidates. Newman was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on a United Nations Conference on Nuclear Disarmament. In the 1980s, Newman launched a line of food products as “Newman’s Own”, including salad dressing and pasta sauce, donating the profits to charity. (The salad dressing is my favorite ). Both Newman and Woodward have won Academy Awards: Woodward in 1957 for “The Three Faces of Eve”, and Newman in 1986 for “The Color of Money”. [you may want to delete this considering his passing] I saw them interviewed on the Today Show recently and they are still going strong.

1958-Challenge Records releases "Tequila" backed with "Train to Nowhere" by the Champs. The A side will make it to Number One in mid-March. One other note...the Champs included Jim Seals and Dash Croft, later to become Seals and Crofts. [ Glen Campbell later joined the Champs

but it was after the record was made]

1959 - Walt Disney's classic animated film, “Sleeping Beauty”, was released in theaters on this date. Reviews and reactions were mixed, as Disney had deviated from the style of animation the public had grown accustomed to.

1961 - After performing in New York, Bob Dylan visits the home of a friend in East Orange, NJ, and meets his idol, Woody Guthrie.

1962-Warner Bros. Records signs the folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary. They will go on to have big hits with harmonized versions of such Bob Dylan songs as "Blowin' in the Wind" as well as "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "Leaving on a Jet Plane."

1964 - For the 1965 to 1969 seasons, NBC-TV agreed to pay $36 million for the broadcast rights to the American Football League games. CBS already secured the National Football League.

1964- “Dr. Strangelove” premieres : Stanley Kubrick's black comic masterpiece, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” opens in theaters to both critical and popular acclaim. The movie's popularity was evidence of changing attitudes toward atomic weapons and the concept of nuclear deterrence. The movie focused on the actions of a rogue U.S. officer who believes that communists are threatening the "precious bodily fluids" of Americans. Without authorization, he issues orders to U.S. bombers to launch atomic attacks against the Soviet Union. When it becomes evident that some of the bombers may actually drop their atomic payloads, American President Merkin Muffley frantically calls his Soviet counterpart. The Russian leader informs Muffley that an atomic attack on the Soviet Union will automatically unleash the terrible "doomsday machine," which will snuff out all life on the planet. Muffley's chief foreign policy advisor, Dr. Strangelove, reassures the president and chief officials that all is not lost: they can, he posits, survive even the doomsday machine by retreating to deep mineshafts. Close scrutiny of the Dr. Strangelove character indicated that he was probably a composite of three people: Henry Kissinger, a political scientist who had written about nuclear deterrence strategy; Edward Teller, a key scientist in the development of the hydrogen bomb; and Wernher von Braun, the German scientist who was a leading figure in missile technology. Who can forget the character riding on the bomb falling out of the bomb bay to Russia?

The film is near its conclusion with the unforgettable scene of the "Leper Colony" bomber plane approaching closer and closer to its target. As the airship approaches its new objective with the bombing plane's theme song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” playing on the soundtrack, Major Kong and bombardier Lieut. Lothar Zogg (James Earl Jones) make final bomb run technical checks: bomb fusing circuits, the bomb arming test lights, the primary trigger switch override, the track indicators for maximum deflection, the detonator set at zero altitude, and safety releases. Then Kong finds that one of the bomb bay doors won't open - "the Teleflex drive cable must be sheared away." He leaves his cockpit seat to fix to faulty bomb-release mechanism manually, telling his co-pilot Capt. G. A. "Ace" Owens (Shane Rimmer): "Stay on the bomb run, Ace. I'm goin' down below and see what I can do." He proceeds through the hatch to the bomb bay, telling the D.S.O. and crew, “Stay on the bomb run, boys. I'm gonna get them doors open if it hare lips everybody on Bear Creek”. There are two huge nuclear warhead bombs in the foreground, each labeled with sexual salutations: "Hi There!" (a homosexual advance), the other labeled "Dear John!" (the typical opening of a letter that ends a relationship). Kong sees a sparking tangle of wires, and climbs astride the "Hi There!" bomb like a bucking bronco, fanning the flaring sparks with his cowboy's Stetson hat. Sweating profusely, he busily works to fuse two wires together to rewire the door circuitry. Ace asks anxiously: "Roger, 3 miles. Target in sight! Where in hell is Major Kong?" as Kong attaches an alligator clip to a patch panel above his head, causing the bomb doors to open wide.

The film has given us a memorable cultural image. When the bomb doors open, he first grabs onto his Stetson to avoid losing it in the sudden draft of air. The Hi There! bomb is dislodged, with Kong riding on it - the huge bomb [a potent swollen phallic symbol] between his legs. The bombardier asks: "Hey, what about Major Kong?" Kong is flailing the bomb with his hat like a rodeo cowboy atop a bucking bronco, howling wildly toward oblivion: "YAHOO!! YAHOO!!" as it malevolently descends toward its target and detonates in a white, climactic flash on the ground.

http://wso.williams.edu/~mhacker/strangelove2.html

http://www.filmsite.org/drst.html

1964 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: ``I Want to Hold Your Hand,'' The Beatles. This first American release by the Beatles is one of the biggest selling British singles of all time with worldwide sales of 15 million copies.

1965---Top Hits

Downtown - Petula Clark

You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’ - The Righteous Brothers

The Name Game - Shirley Ellis

You’re the Only World I Know - Sonny James

1966 - "Sweet Charity", starring Gwen Verdon, opened at the Palace Theatre in New York. The Neil Simon musical was an adaptation of the Federico Fellini film, "Notti di Cabiria". The play lasted for 608 performances. In 1969, Hollywood produced a big-budget version starring Shirley MacLaine.

1968 - Gore Vidal's controversial sex novel, “Myra Breckenridge”, was published by Little, Brown & Company on this date. It was later made into a film starring Raquel Welch and Mae West.

1968 - Coach Adolph Rupp, of the Kentucky Wildcats, got win #772, becoming the winningest coach in college basketball history.

1968 --President Johnson requests additional funds. In his annual budget message, President Lyndon B. Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war in Vietnam, and announces an increase in taxes. The war was becoming very expensive, both in terms of lives and national treasury. Johnson had been given a glowing report on progress in the war from Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam. Westmoreland stated in a speech before the National Press Club that, "We have reached an important point when the end begins to come into view. I am absolutely certain that, whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing. The enemy's hopes are bankrupt." The day after Johnson's budget speech, the communists launched a massive attack across the length and breadth of South Vietnam. This action, the Tet Offensive, proved to be a critical turning point for the United States in Vietnam. In the end, the offensive resulted in a crushing military defeat for the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese, but the size and scope of the communist attacks caught the American and South Vietnamese allies by surprise. The heavy U.S. and South Vietnamese casualties incurred during the offensive, coupled with the disillusionment over the administration's earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war, accelerated the growing disenchantment with the president's conduct of the war. Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election.

He died shortly after he retired as a broken man.

1971- New York music business financier Allen Klein was found guilty of ten counts of evading US income taxes. His conviction was upheld on appeal. Klein once controlled the finances of both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Beatles, apparently over Paul McCartney's objections, hired Klein in 1969 to try to rescue their ailing Apple Corps Limited, which was losing thousands of pounds a week. The tangled business affairs of Apple, and Klein's failure to solve them, are cited as one reason for the Beatles' breakup

1973 - Johnny Rivers was awarded a gold record for "Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu".

1973---Top Hits

Superstition - Stevie Wonder

Crocodile Rock - Elton John

Your Mama Don’t Dance - Kenny Loggins & Jim Messina

(Old Dogs-Children And) Watermelon Wine - Tom T. Hall

1973- the first female pilot on a regularly scheduled major airline was Emily H. Warner. She was hired by Frontier Airlines as the second officer (co-pilot) on a Boeing 737.

1973 - CBS-TV presented the first episode of "Barnaby Jones". Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955, played the detective’s daughter-in-law assistant. Buddy Ebsen, playing the detective, started in movies back in the 1920s, and was chosen to play a part in "The Wizard of Oz", but bowed out. He also shot the first film used in Walt Disney's the animation tests for a character named Mortimer Mouse, who would be known as Mickey Mouse. He is best known for portraying Jed Clampett the CBS-TV series, "The Beverly Hillbillies".

1974 -Fighting continues in South Vietnam .

The fighting continues in South Vietnam despite the cease-fire that was initiated on January 28, 1973, under the provisions of the Paris Peace Accords. This latest fighting was part of the ongoing battles that followed the brief lull of the cease-fire. The Peace Accords had left an estimated 145,000 North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam when the cease-fire went into effect. Renewed fighting broke out after the cease-fire as both sides jockeyed for control of territory throughout South Vietnam. Each side held that military operations were justified by the other side's violations of the cease-fire, resulting in an almost endless chain of retaliations. During the period between the initiation of the cease-fire and the end of 1973, there were an average of 2,980 combat incidents per month in South Vietnam. Most of these were low-intensity harassing attacks designed to wear down the South Vietnamese forces, but the North Vietnamese intensified their efforts in the Central Highlands in September when they attacked government positions with tanks west of Pleiku. As a result of these post-cease-fire actions, approximately 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,000.

1975 - After girlfriend Linda Thompson wakes up and finds him struggling to catch his breath, Elvis Presley is admitted to Memphis' Baptist Hospital for "a liver problem," which in reality is an attempt by Presley's personal physician "Dr. Nick" to curtail his growing addiction to prescription medication.

1977 –Normally we do not write about deaths, but on this day gifted comedian and television actor Freddie Prinze, age 22, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a revolver in front of Martin "Dusty" Snyder, his business manager. He died in a Los Angeles hospital 36 hours later. Prinze catapulted to fame in the television sitcom, “Chico and the Man”, and experienced many emotional problems as a result, as well as a divorce. His suicide note read, "I cannot go on any longer." It was later determined that the suicide was actually intended as a practical joke by Prinze, who was under the influence of Quaaludes. He had faked suicide attempts in front of network secretaries earlier that day. Whether Prinze thought the gun was empty, thought that the safety was on, or just wasn't thinking due to the drugs, the joke he thought he was pulling on Snyder resulted in his untimely death. Modern history is full of such incidents including Russian Roulette or thinking the gun was not loaded and proving it by pointing to the head and pulling the trigger as one famous rock ’n ’roll musician did back stage after a performance.

1977 - Rose Royce took the #1 spot on the music charts with "Car Wash", from the movie of the same title. The song lasted a week at the peak before dropping away.

1979 -- President Jimmy Carter commutes the sentence of Patty Hearst.

1981- Dolly Parton barreled to the top of the charts with "9 to 5," her immortal paean to the woes of the daily grind. "9 to 5" was also the title and theme song of the hit movie starring Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as disgruntled secretaries who exact revenge on their lecherous boss, played by Dabney Coleman.

1981---Top Hits

(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon

Love on the Rocks - Neil Diamond

The Tide is High - Blondie

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

1983 - A series of Pacific coast storms finally came to an end. The storms, attributed in part to the ocean current, "El Nino", produced ocean swells 15 to 20 feet high which ravaged the beaches of southern California. Much of the damage was to homes of movies stars in the exclusive Malibu Colony.

1988--- The Canadian rock band Prism, which faded in 1983 after earlier hit records and a Juno award, staged a reunion at the 86 Street Club in Vancouver. The reunion group featured three of the original members - Lindsay Mitchell, Rocket Norton and Al Harlow. Prism was formed in 1977 and produced such hit records as "Armageddon," "Spaceship Superstar" and "Night to Remember." It won the Juno for Group of the Year in 1980 and served as a springboard for writers such as Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. 83 record.

1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Need You Tonight,'' INXS. The group is only the third from Australia - and the first in five years - to top the pop chart.

1989---Top Hits

Two Hearts - Phil Collins

When I’m with You - Sheriff

When the Children Cry - White Lion

Deeper Than the Holler - Randy Travis

1989 - Billy Joel performs the US National Anthem at the Super Bowl; five years later to the day, Natalie Cole would get the honor at Super Bowl XXVIII.

1989 - The first of 20 episodes of the children's television program, “Shining Time Station”, the half-hour American version of Britain's "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends," was aired in the United States on PBS. Former Beatle drummer Ringo Starr was originally cast as the 18-inch-tall Mr. Conductor. A few years later, he was replaced by comedian George Carlin.

1990 - Severe thunderstorms in the southeastern U.S. spawned a tornado which destroyed three mobile homes near Blythe GA injuring six persons. A fast moving cold front produced high winds in the western U.S. Winds along the coast of Oregon gusted to 65 mph at Portland, and high winds generated 22 to 26 foot seas which battered the coast. Winds near Reno NV gusted to 78 mph. High winds also buffeted the Central High Plains, with gusts to 94 mph reported at La Mesa CO.

1993- An interim policy on ending the ban on homosexuals in the US military was announced by President William Clinton. The policy ended the questioning of military recruits regarding their sexual orientation but allowed removal of openly homosexual members from active service. President Clinton's announced policy of "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" allowed homosexuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they were discreet.

1996- the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" became the world's longest-running musical with 6,138 performances. It had opened at the New London Theatre on May 11th, 1981. The previous record was held by the Broadway production of "A Chorus Line."

1996-Sun exhibited a prototype of a simple, inexpensive computer that allowed users to surf the Web or corporate networks. A number of similar network computers, or "thin clients," hit the market in 1996-97. The network model — where small, inexpensive machines communicated with a more sophisticated, central info hub — proved economically attractive to large companies.

1996-Country superstar Garth Brooks refused to accept his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist. Brooks said that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did.

1998 - A bomb exploded outside the New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed Robert Sanderson, an off-duty police officer working as a security guard. Emily Lyons, a nurse, was critically injured. Police have been searching for suspect Eric Rudolph in the North Carolina area.

http://www.fbi.gov/most

http://www.covenantnews.com/eric/rudolph/eric01.htm want/topten/

fugitives/rudolph.htm

Superbowl Champions This Date

1995 -- San Francisco 49ers defeat San Diego 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. San Francisco scored on the third play of the game and led, 28-10, at half time. Steve Young passes for a record six touchdowns as the 49ers become the first team to win five Super Bowls. Young was also named MVP.

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SuDoku

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